Rule 1. Only invest in countries that are investor-friendly: Agricultural investments require a medium to long-term view. A typical investment in mainstream agriculture will require 70-80% of your investment to go into land. There is no need to add to these risks by going into countries where you put your capital at risk. This rules out most of Africa,…

Buy land, said Mark Twain, they ain’t making it any more. He also observed that one of the secrets of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside. Taken together, these two aphorisms go a long way to explaining the appeal of investment in agriculture.The world may not be making any more land but it’s…